The Arkansaw traveler., 1887-09-24
Written Ior The ArkdnsoW Trdrcler. LONDON CORRESPOND
 ENCE:
Gilbert and Sullivan's Next Opera Ran dom Gossip to be Received
 With Caution.
BY HAL BERTE.

l sec by an excerpt from the Lon- don correspondence of the New Or leans Times Democrat, quoted in THE TRAvELER, that the writer professes to have scored the somewhat enviable privilege of being in the indirect con- fidence of Messrs. Gilbert and Sulli- van. He knows for certain what their future plans are, and proceeds to in- form his readers that an opera founded on wild west principles, embracing In- dians, cowboys, etc., will be the next mdgnum opus of the joint authors of "Ruddygore." It will be hardly nec- essary, think, to impress upon read CTS of THE TRAvELER that such a statement should be received with the utmost reserve, if not incredulity. Prior to the production of "Ruddy- gore" the air was thick with rumors of what was to be, and yet not one shot came nigh the mark Messrs. Gilbert, Sullivan and D'Oyioy Carte are much too fly to let the cat out of the bag until it suits their purpose, and, until the announcement is made officially, every rumor should be taken cum gldno S0liS. This the more es- pecially when we bear in mind that "Ruddygore" is the last of the series originally arranged to be produced at the Savoy theatre for Mr. D'Oyley Carte. This is about the style of thing which is appearing in the know all-about-it papers just now:
 "We hear that Messrs. Gilbert and Sullivan are al work on new opera, the scene of which is laid in Egypt, where Mir. Gilbert has gone to gather materials. It is expected that the pyramids will be introduced and pos sibly the sphynx. One very near the management (stage carpenter) informs us that several real mummies will be brought into acquisition and that Pharaoh will be a very prominent character"
 "On dit, that Messrs. Gilbert and Sullivan's next opera will be essen tially Irish. One very near the man. agement (scene shifteO assures us that the very great attention which the country is now giving to Irish affairs has been the means of directing MrGil- bert's attention to Ireland as a locole. MT. Gladstone has gone perfectly wild over it, and Gilbert has promised to introduce a home rule bill at his special request. The fact that Sir Arthur Sullivan is an Irishman by birth etfectually disperses any doubts as to the bona tides of this report"
 The all important conundrum which is at present agitating the bosoms of patriotic Britishers is "Who will win the yacht racer" A we'll known Detroit journalist, with whom l was discussing the subject the other day, did not seem very san guine over the matter. "Pm afraid" said he, "that darned Thistle means mischief" And of course he may be right. At the same time, he may be wrong. Still, taking it all round, folks are very hopeful here, for the "Thistle" has carried all before her hitherto, and Mir. Bell, her owner, expresses himself confident of bring ing back the cup.
 At the execution of murderer at Newgate recently crowd numbering some thousands gathered around the prison and cheered the black flag and the hangman with tremendous gusto No more disgraceful scene it is said, has been witnessed since the abolition ofpublic executions in England. Such depravity is usually credited by vir- tuous Britons to the wild west where impromptu hangings are in the nat ural order of things. And yet after all, the depths to which an English crowd will sometimes sink would shame race of savages No better proof can be adduced than in the case where the crowd cheered, not because the the law had been vindicated and jus- tice done, but because their gross ap- petites had been satiated by their being participators in the strangula- tion of fellow creature and mo- mentary sight of the man who had been instrumental in the committal of this state murder. While on this topic l should like to moot an idea which I think would result in a veritable gold mine if carried out by an enter prising man of the Barnum stamp. Il am confident the success of Buffalo Bill in England with the 'wild west" would be as nothing compared with the furore genuine British wild East would create in the United States. We could not exactly furn- ish Indians or cowboys but we could provide some very good substitutes. Ireland alone would fill an item in the programme which would make Buffalo Bills mouth water with envy By the way, one of Buffalo Bill's cowboys has been running amuck and is now in durance vile where he is destined to abide for the next six months. Itap- pears that the temptation to assault harmless British citizen and after wards kick policeman who inter-